Weeks after Nightmare Moon's defeat, Ash had settled nicely into Ponyville; he had taken up residence in Twilight's home and had grown close to his new friends. Speaking of Ash, he had woken up to start the day.
"Aww, what a good sleep!" he said as he got out of bed.
He walked down the stairs to see that Twilight and Spike were also up.
"Morning Twilight, Spike." Ash greeted.
Good morning, Ash," they greeted back.
"So what are you guys doing today?" Ash questioned.
"Me and Spike are planning on heading to Sweet Apple Acres to help Applejack pick some apples." Twilight answered.
Ash smile.
"Cool, do you mind if I tag along?" Ash questioned.
she smiled.
"Sure, the more the merrier," she said.
"Awesome, let's go." Ash said, smiling.
With that, they left for Sweet Apple Acres.
After an hour of walking, they had arrived at Sweet Apple Acres and saw Applejack at the gate waiting for them.
"hey Applejack." Twilight greeted.
"Well, howdy there, Twilight and Spike. Are you two ready to pick some apples?" Applejack questioned.
Twilight smiled.
"Yes, Applejack, we're ready." Twilight said this before Applejack finally noticed Ash with them.
"Howdy there, Prince Ash, what brings you here?" She questioned.
Ash smiled.
"When Twilight said that she and Spike were helping you pick apples, I decided to tag along. I hope you don't mind." Ash explained.
Applejack smiled back.
"Of course I don't mind the more the merrier, as I always say," she said.
"Funny, I said the exact same thing." Twilight said.
"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's get to picking!" Applejack, they said as they went in and began to pick apples.
"Btw, Applejack, no need to be so modest after all, we're friends." Ash said.
"Alright then, Ash," Applejack said.
An hour later.
"No, no." Spike said as he grabbed apples to see which ones were good enough to eat.
"Thank you kindly, Ash and Twilight, for helping me out. I bet big Macintosh that I could get all these golden deliciouss into the barn by sundown. If I win, he's going to walk down Stirrup Street in one of Granny's girdles." Applejack said excitedly.
"No problem, Applejack," Twilight said.
"Yeah, it's no problem; I'm always happy to help." Ash said.
"I'm just glad the goal is lunchtime." Twilight said.
"Yeah, all that hard work is making me hungry," Spike said.
Spike, you've been lounging on my back all morning while we worked." Twilight said.
"Exactly, you three were taking so long that I missed snack time." Spike said as he continued looking through the apples.
(Twilight and Ash's stomachs started to growl.)
"We better get some lunch," Twilight said.
"Right, I'm really hungry." Ash said as his stomach growled some more.
"Perfect!" Spike said While holding an Apple.
"Oh, Spike, that looks delicious." Twilight said before Spike ate the apple:
"SPIKE!" Twilight yelled.
Suddenly, an Apple was floating in front of her.
"Here, Twilight, I'm sure you need it more than me." Ash said while handing her the Apple.
She smiled.
"Thank you, Ash," she said before eating the Apple.
Spike suddenly burped, and a scroll came out, taking Ash by surprise.
"Whoa, Spike, how'd you do that?" He questioned.
Spike chuckled.
"Don't worry, Ash, that happens when I send letters to the Princess," he explained before reading the scroll.
"Hear ye hear ye, her grand royal highness, the princess of Equestria, is pleased to announce that the Grand Galloping Gala is to be held in Canterlot on the 21st of..." Spike said as he skipped a few parts.
"...cordially extends an invitation to Twilight and one guest." He finishes reading.
Twilight and Applejack looked at each other.
"THE GRAND GALLOPING GALA!" They shouted in excitement as Spike burped out two tickets.
"Look at two tickets," Spike said as he showed them the tickets.
"wow! Great! I've never been to the gala, have you, Spike?" Twilight questioned.
"No, and I plan to keep it that way; I don't want any of that girly, frilly, froufrou nonsense." Spike said.
"Aw, come on, Spike, a dance would be nice," Twilight said.
Ash chuckled.
"she's right Spike, one little dance wouldn't kill you," he said.
"Yeah, and it wouldn't just be nice; I'd love to go if I had an Apple stand set up. Ponies would be chawing our tasty little vittles until the cows come home. Do you have any idea how much business I could drum up for Sweet Apple Acres? We could do a heap of fixin' up around here; we could replace that saggy, old roof, and Big Macintosh could replace that saggy, old plow, and Granny Smith could replace that saggy, old hip. Why would I give my left hind leg to go to that gala?" Applejack said.
"In that case, would you like to?" But before Twilight could finish her sentence, she was interrupted.
"Whoa!" Rainbow Dash said before crashing into them.
"Are we talking about the Grand Galloping Gala?" Rainbow asked before noticing Ash.
"Hey, Prince Ash," she greeted.
"Hey Rainbow, there's no need to call me Prince. Just Ash will be fine," he told her.
"Alright, then I'm cool with that." Rainbow said before turning her attention back to Twilight.
"Anyway, we were talking about the Gala?" She questioned.
"Rainbow Dash, you told me that you were too busy to help me harvest apples. What were you busy doing, spying?" Applejack accused.
She and Rainbow Dash then began to argue about who would get the ticket until Ash spoke up.
"Girls, stop arguing; it's Twilight's Decision on who gets the ticket, not yours," he said.
"Thank you, Ash. Come on, let's go." Twilight said as they left Sweet Apple Acres.
"So to whom are you going to give the ticket to Twilight?" Spike questioned them as they strolled through town.
Shortly after leaving Sweet Apple Acres, the three ran into each of their friends, who, after hearing about the ticket, imagined what their time at the Gala would be like. For Rarity, it would be a night full of glamour and romance as she meets Princess Celestia's nephew, Prince Blueblood; for Pinkie Pie, it would be the parties; and for Fluttershy, it would be the animals that live in the garden.
"I don't know, Spike, but I really can't think straight when I'm hungry." Twilight said.
Ash notices a certain building.
"Well, why don't we eat at that restaurant?" Ash questioned.
Twilight smiled.
"Good idea, Ash I'm sure that once I've eaten, I'll be able to think better." Twilight said.
as they head into the restaurant.
"Oh, Ash, what am I going to do?" Twilight questioned them as they sat at a table outside while waiting for their waiter.
"All of my friends have really good reasons to go to the gala," she said as she pulled off the petals of a flower.
"Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, or Rarity, who should go with me?" She questioned.
The waiter arrived at the table.
"We would like two daisy and daffodil sandwiches, please." Ash said.
The waiter nodded and headed back in to get the food.
"Don't worry, Twilight, I'm sure that you'll make the right decision after all; you're pretty smart." Ash said.
This makes her blush before asking him something that was bugging her after getting the tickets.
"Hey Ash, how come you don't want the ticket?" She questioned.
"It's because it would destroy our friendship," he answered.
She smiled.
'Ash really is something, she thought as the waiter brought their food.
"Thank you, this looks delicious." Twilight said.
as she was about to eat when suddenly it started to rain, though oddly enough, Twilight was the only one not being rained on.
"Hey, what gives?" Ash questioned.
Rainbow Dash appeared next to Twilight.
"Why hello there, my bestest best friend, enjoying the sunny weather?" Rainbow asked before noticing Ash.
"Hey Ash, are you trying to ask her for the ticket?" She questioned.
"No, I was trying to enjoy my lunch before you ruined it." Ash said with a frown.
Twilight told Rainbow to get rid of her kiss-up attempt so that she could enjoy her food, only to see it ruined.
Twilight, it's raining." Rarity said as she walked up to the three.
"no really?" Twilight questioned him sarcastically.
"Come with me before you catch a cold," Rarity said before dragging Twilight to her boutique.
"wait! What about Ash?" Twilight questioned.
"Oh, he'll be fine." Rarity said she left Ash in the rain.
"Alright, enough is enough." Ash said he was annoyed and disappointed with his friends before walking towards the library.
An hour later.
Ash had made it back to the library only to see Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy arguing over the ticket while Twilight looked like she was at her wits end. Ash finally snapped.
"ENOUGH!" He shouted, catching them off guard.
"I can't believe you girls are putting a ticket over your friendship. Just look at Twilight. Can't you see that the pressure is getting to her? You all need to think about what you did and find a solution to this," he scolded.
They stared at the ground in shame before looking at Twilight.
"We're sorry, Twilight. We were so focused on getting to go to the Gala that we didn't see how much pressure we put on you. If it makes you feel better, I don't want the ticket any more." Applejack said, with the girls apologizing as well.
Twilight smiled before having Spike send both tickets back.
"Why would you do that, Twilight? Now you won't get to go either," Applejack said, confused.
"Because, Applejack, if my best friends can't go, then I don't want to go at all." Twilight said.
They smiled before hugging when suddenly Spike picked up a scroll and read it.
to them:
"My faithful student, Twilight,
Why didn't you say so in the first place?"
-Princess Celestia
After he finished reading, seven tickets appeared.
"Seven tickets!" He said.
They all started cheering before Twilight and Ash's stomachs started growling.
"Come on, sugar cubes, let's get you something to eat." Applejack said.
As they walked out to eat, Spike lamented the fact that he didn't get a ticket until he purred up another one, making him excited to be able to go to the Gala.
Ash smiled as they left, happy that his friends stopped fighting and were able to find a solution. What other adventures await? He'll have to wait and see.
Disclaimer
Hey everyone, sorry I've been taking so long, but the chapter is finally done. Let me know what you think of it, and I will see you all later.